The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.

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Ariely found that the rudely-treated subjects behaved just like those who weren't interrupted if one small change was made to the experiment. If the person interacting with the subject took the call and carried on the same annoying conversation, but, after hanging up, offered a brief apology, the rudeness effect was negated. The apology led to the badly-treated subjects returning the extra money at close to the same rate as those who experienced no interruption.

Keeping Your Current Customers

Since my earliest days in sales, the drive to get new customers has always been paired with the mantra, "It's much more profitable to keep an existing customer than go looking for a new one." This remains wise advice, but is often widely ignored in practice. Companies that fail to respond to complaints in a timely manner risk losing the same customers they spent large sums acquiring in the first place. The data shows that even when a problem is no longer fixable, a simple apology can still turn a negative attitude into a positive one.

Which companies do you know that could benefit from a better social media response effort? And who does a great job?